Fraud cases increase in quantity and value during H1
THE value of fraud cases dealt with by courts in the Midlands increased by 55% in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period last year, according to latest figures.
The latest KPMG Fraud Barometer shows that with a case value in the first half of 2014 of just under £21m, there has been a significant jump to this year’s figure of £32m. Cases of fraud in the region have increased from 16 cases to 19, with average case value in the Midlands up from £1.3m to £1.7m.
Simon Albrighton, Forensic Partner at KPMG in the Midlands, said: “The significant rise in the value of fraud cases in the region is partly due to several individual cases, including one of a high value investment fraud and another of mis-selling. What’s interesting is that these cases aren’t confined to one kind of perpetrator, they include management, employees and professional criminals, proving that substantial fraud isn’t just the domain of the career fraudster.
“However, what’s potentially more worrying to the man on the street is the increase in cases of fraud against individuals. While we saw just one example of this in the first half of 2014, amounting to £100,000, we have seen six cases this year, totalling £2.4m. Only a third of these crimes were committed by professional criminals, which proves the need to be vigilant whenever it comes to your finances, no matter how trustworthy someone might seem to be.”
Cases to reach the region’s crown courts during the period include:
• A Solihull man jailed for his part in an £8m rogue trading scheme which saw elderly and vulnerable people defrauded in a fake roofing service
• A former magistrate from Loughborough who took part in a £250,000 tax fraud and money laundering operation, which included taking 45% on his employees’ earnings
• A Northampton man who defrauded his mother of £600,000 while she was seriously ill in a care home, spending the money on a new house and expensive food and wine
• An eight-strong gang found guilty in Nottingham of a half million pound fraud, which involved taking money from pensioners to ‘protect them against future care home fees’
KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, which measures fraud cases with losses of £100,000 or more reaching the UK courts, found the national value of fraud rose by 22% in the first half of the year to £385m (H1 2014: £317m).
With 160 cases, fraud volumes remained virtually identical to the first half of 2014, meaning the average value of fraud has increased from £2m to £2.4m, a 21% increase.
